Welcome to the team, Sean.
Former Olympian and record-setting professional swimmer Sean Gunn has come out in an exclusive interview with OutSports posted on February 18.
The athlete, age 30, hails from Zimbabwe before heading to America – where he studied and trained for swim competitions at The University of Kentucky. This led him to a whirlwind career between 2012 and 2017, that saw him compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
Before his big claim to fame, Sean came out to his team. He tells OutSports:
Initially I was not out at all. I dated girls for the first few years. I had some really great relationships with girls over the years and really loved them. Obviously over time that changed, and I started dating guys later on. But my team, and everyone who did know, was very supportive and happy for me.
From teammates to family members, Sean saw support from everyone around him. On the fear of coming out to his family, he tells the source:
Unfortunately, I only came out to my family and people back at home much later in life. Although I haven’t had one bad experience since coming out, I guess I just struggled with it for way too long. As someone who did struggle with coming out and only did come out at 27 to my family, it makes me so happy to be surrounded by friends and family and so much love and am really grateful for them all.
I’m a typical New Jersey dude, so if someone didn’t like my sexual identity – and I was Sean – I would have said go fuck yourself, I bet you’re not the #2 ranked swimmer in Zimbabwe.
Although Sean gave up swimming pools in 2017, he’s still embracing his athletics as a long-distance runner. I mean, that definitely helps keep your cardio up!
Congratulations on coming out to the public, Sean.
Source: OutSports